United Kingdom: Market data & legal analysis of the nicotine sector

New junior health minister takes charge of UK policy on tobacco alternatives

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 24th September 2021

The appointment of Maggie Throup as UK public health minister comes at a potentially critical time for tobacco alternatives, with many hoping she will continue the harm reduction approach of her predecessor ...

Healthy business? PMI completes its takeover of Vectura and Fertin Pharma

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 16th September 2021

Philip Morris International (PMI) has concluded its controversial £1.1bn takeover of UK health firm Vectura, along with that of the Danish oral-products manufacturer Fertin Pharma ...

Young adults smoked more while overall quitting rate doubled in UK lockdown

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo | 26th August 2021

A study by Cancer Research UK has found that the success rate of attempts to quit smoking in England almost doubled during the first Covid-19 lockdown, while smoking by young adults increased by almost 25%...

Vectura’s board supports 'fair' £1.2bn PMI takeover bid; shareholders to decide

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 13th August 2021

The board of UK health firm Vectura has recommended that shareholders support the £1.2bn takeover bid from tobacco giant PMI ...

Will the UK government end up blocking PMI-Vectura deal in the public interest?

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo | 5th August 2021

The proposal of Philip Morris International (PMI) to acquire inhaled drug delivery company Ventura for $1.2bn has alerted the UK government, which can block the deal if it sees any major public interest reason to...

Why is the boss of Marlboro maker PMI talking up the end of smoking days?

Written by Barnaby Page | 29th July 2021

Jacek Olczak, CEO of Philip Morris International (PMI), says the company could stop selling combustible cigarettes in the UK within a decade ...

BAT reports slight slip in global revenue while modern oral growth accelerates

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo | 28th July 2021

British American Tobacco (BAT) has posted a 0.8% global decrease in revenue for the first half of the year, while the performance of its new category portfolio rose by 40.4% ...

MPs urge UK government to be ambitious in aiming for a 'smoke-free' England

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 27th July 2021

MPs have called on the UK government to present “ambitious plans”, involving novel tobacco alternatives, if they want a smoke-free country by 2030 – a target many public health experts consider unreachable ...

Is plain packaging all it's cracked up to be when it comes to stubbing out smoking?

Written by Aidan Semmens | 22nd July 2021

A new study by researchers from the Luiss Business School in Rome and Deloitte comes to an unexpected and counterintuitive conclusion ...

Could legalising snus tap into a huge potential for smoking cessation?

Written by Barnaby Page | 18th June 2021

Two startling statistics emerge from a recent survey of smokers in Europe: nearly one in three (31%) of current smokers would be interested in trying snus if it became legal, but less than 3% are...

MPs say UK policy on smoking cessation should include HnB and nicotine pouches

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 14th June 2021

The British government must step up efforts to promote tobacco alternative products if it is to achieve its goal of a smoke-free society by 2030, a cross-party parliamentary committee agreed ...

BAT forecasts a 'pivotal' year for business with rise in HnB and modern oral sales

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 9th June 2021

British American Tobacco (BAT) has upgraded its annual forecast with an expectation of strong growth in new categories in post-pandemic times and a planned further rollout of its heated tobacco portfolio ...

New UK health agency likely to maintain good will towards tobacco alternatives

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 3rd June 2021

The recent shake-up of the UK’s health sector with the replacement of Public Health England (PHE) is not expected to substantially change the country’s support of novel tobacco products as aids to quit smoking ...

UK physicians suggest raising the legal tobacco age while lowering tax pressure

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 28th May 2021

The Royal College of Physicians has recommended the UK government reduce the VAT on tobacco-alternative products to 5% to encourage smokers to make the switch, and to increase the minimum legal age for sales ...

British government review of tobacco rules won't be coming any time soon

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 26th May 2021

The UK government’s post-implementation review of the 2016 Tobacco and Related Products Regulations (TRPR) won’t be ready before the end of the year ...

Imperial enjoys an increase in revenue while planning for Pulze expansion

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 19th May 2021

Imperial Brands’ earnings in the first half of the year jumped 6.1% to £15.57bn in the midst of a process to implement a new company strategy towards tobacco alternatives ...

Scottish Conservatives say alternatives should be regulated like combustibles

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 28th April 2021

As elections to the Scottish Parliament approach, the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party has said e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products should be subject to the same restrictions as combustible cigarettes ...

WHO approach to HnB is 'short-sighted' and 'out of date', say British MPs

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 13th April 2021

A British All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Vaping has urged the World Health Organization (WHO) to look more positively on new alternatives to tobacco to shape future global anti-smoking policies ...

Broad industry support for extending UK tobacco regs to include alternatives

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 6th April 2021

The UK review of the 2016 Tobacco and Related Products Regulations (TRPR) should cover other tobacco-alternative products and not just e-cigarettes, respondents to an official consulation said ...

Imperial expresses new optimism on upcoming heated tobacco market trials

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 30th March 2021

Imperial Brands has announced that it expects to deliver its yearly objectives for 2021 and expressed optimism about the performance of its heated tobacco device Pulze ...

UK High Court revokes BAT's HnB patents and dismisses its claim against PMI

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 15th March 2021

A UK court has declared two patents held by British American Tobacco (BAT) for its heat-not-burn device Glo invalid after the company sued Philip Morris International (PMI) for infringement ...

Should the UK include non-tobacco pouches in tobacco laws? PHE suggests so

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 26th February 2021

A new report from Public Health England (PHE) advises that non-tobacco nicotine products should be included in the post-Brexit UK revision of the 2016 Tobacco and Related Products Regulations (TRPR) ...

UK should take the harm reduction message to WHO conference, MPs told

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 11th February 2021

Britain will have an “incredible opportunity” later this year to spread the word that appropriate regulation of tobacco alternatives saves lives, members of the UK Parliament have been told ...

Imperial Brands' five-year plan to 'dial up focus' on heated tobacco in Europe

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 28th January 2021

Imperial Brands has announced a substantial shift in strategy towards its next-generation products category, with a focus on investment in heated tobacco in Europe over the next five years ...

UK tobacco regulation review likely after Brexit deal signed

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 24th December 2020

After the eleventh-hour agreement of a Brexit deal on Christmas Eve, one of the first key issues for the go-it-alone UK to tackle will be the review of the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations (TRPR) ...

Imperial posts poor next-gen results, aims to expand oral nicotine in Europe

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 17th November 2020

Imperial Brands has revealed that net revenue from its next-generation portfolio declined by 27% in the year to September and announced that it will take a “more prudent approach” from now on ...

Imperial's tobacco-alternative revenues collapse by 30% in 2020

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 9th October 2020

Imperial Brands has revealed that the company’s net revenue for its next-generation portfolio is around 30% lower than 2019, while the overall company revenue looks set to remain flat this year ...

UK to set new post-Brexit limit on HnB duty-free purchases from January

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 24th September 2020

The UK government is to impose a cap from next year on the number of heated tobacco consumables that air passengers can import into the country – including from countries within the European Union...

BAT’s modern oral portfolio increases 74% in a year

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 31st July 2020

BAT’s revenue from its smokeless portfolio increased by 5.7% to £9.4bn ($12.3bn) in the first six months of the year, helped by higher revenue in the modern oral segment ...

Post-Brexit Britain may be prepared to scrap the prohibition of snus

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 15th July 2020

The UK government will assess the possibility of allowing the sale of snus in the country once the Brexit transitional period ends and the European Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) no longer applies ...

BAT predicts 7% shrinkage of HnB, pushes back next-gen revenue goal

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 10th June 2020

British American Tobacco (BAT) is pushing back to 2025 its goal of £5bn in revenues from its next-generation portfolio amid the COVID-19 pandemic and a decrease in heat-not-burn (HnB) business ...

Altria expects a hit from COVID-19, BAT set for heated tobacco decline

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 30th April 2020

Big Tobacco manufacturers are expecting the effects of COVID-19 to hit hard in the second half of the year, despite a strong performance in the first quarter ...

Nicotine events still on the calendar while others fall victim to COVID-19

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 16th March 2020

Organisers of two major conferences and exhibitions on nicotine delivery are hoping the events can still go ahead despite the global coronavirus outbreak and a number of other event cancellations and postponements ...

BAT reports 273% revenue increase in a year for its modern oral portfolio

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 28th February 2020

British American Tobacco (BAT)'s "modern oral" portfolio has been one of the main drivers helping the company achieve good results in 2019 for its next-generation products category, which overall increased globally by 36.9% ...

PMI ‘never approached PHE’ with its £1bn plan to promote switching

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 26th February 2020

Public Health England (PHE) has told TobaccoIntelligence it was never directly approached by Philip Morris International (PMI) over plans for a campaign to promote heat-not-burn and vaping products ...

Could menthol cigarette ban boost uptake of heated tobacco products?

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 18th February 2020

The upcoming ban on menthol cigarettes across Europe may create opportunities for increased adoption of alternative tobacco products, such as heated tobacco ...

So this is Brexit – but what does it mean for tobacco law, now or later?

Written by Barnaby Page | 3rd February 2020

As the UK exits Europe and enters its 11-month period of transition, what does Brexit actually mean for cross-Channel relationships, and for tobacco harm reduction? ...

WHO’s stance on harm reduction report needs updating, says report

Written by Barnaby Page | 24th January 2020

A change of mind by the World Health Organization (WHO) is essential if the potential of tobacco harm reduction is to be fully achieved, according to a new report from British advocacy group Knowledge•Action•Change ...

Big Tobacco job cuts highlight growing pressure on combustibles business

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 19th September 2019

A wave of workforce cuts by major companies such as British American Tobacco (BAT) and Japan Tobacco International (JTI) may be just the tip of the iceberg for Big Tobacco ...

PMI moves on Bristol with four new IQOS stores opening this summer

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 26th June 2019

Philip Morris International (PMI) is to expand its British heated tobacco presence with the opening of four new IQOS stores in Bristol this summer ...

PMI subsidiary offers life insurance discount to smokers who switch

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 25th April 2019

PMI is getting into the life insurance business by creating a subsidiary which offers discounts for switching from smoking to heated tobacco or e-cigarettes ...

UK budget includes new tax on heated tobacco at higher than expected rate

Written by Barnaby Page | 30th October 2018

The UK will next year introduce one of Europe’s highest taxes for heated tobacco (heat-not-burn) products, following an announcement in the Chancellor’s...

UK’s tax plans include a new category for heated tobacco

Written by Freddie Dawson | 9th July 2018

Heated-tobacco products are to receive their own taxation category and rate in the UK. A rate and commencement date for the duty on tobacco consumables for heat-not-burn (HnB) products will be announced in the autumn...

Scots to consult on their vision for a tobacco-free future

Written by Freddie Dawson | 27th June 2018

The Scottish government will consult on a range of new regulations for reduced-risk products, including further restrictions on e-cig advertising, banning some flavours in Hnb products, and banning their public...

UK ministers consider advertising policy – both their own and PMI’s

Written by Freddie Dawson | 30th April 2018

The UK government is keeping an eye on the advertising of heated tobacco products such as IQOS, while defending reduced budgets for its own smoking cessation...

BAT now claims to be biggest reduced-risk tobacco company in the world

Written by Freddie Dawson | 23rd February 2018

British American Tobacco claims to be the largest reduced-risk product company in the world following its acquisition of Reynolds American and says it will build on this through a variety of HnB, moist tobacco and...

Public Health England blames the media for giving vaping a bad name

Written by Barnaby Page | 7th February 2018

The latest evidence review by Public Health England credits e-cigs with helping 20,000 people a year quit smoking, and blames distorted media reporting for that figure not being a lot...

Regulation, creativity and variety – that was the e-cig year that was

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 27th December 2017

ECigIntelligence’s review of the year gone by reflects the big stories of the e-cigarette world in 2017, the trends in regulation, the developing and diverging markets, the science and innovation, and peers into the crystal...

HnB v e-cigs – UK toxicity committee wants to see how they match up

Written by Barnaby Page | 18th December 2017

The UK government committee which this month concluded that heat-not-burn products are safer than combustibles now wants to compare them to...

BAT’s $49bn Reynolds takeover is on – with big reduced-risk potential

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 20th July 2017

The $49.4bn takeover of Reynolds American by British American Tobacco (BAT) is set to go through next week after being approved by shareholders of both...

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